As in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, last week's heavy-duty shuffling among the nation's elite teams led to major alterations of the re-ranking's top 10: Alabama and Oregon remained one-two, but the top 10 as a whole takes on a decidedly different feel.

UCLA, Texas A&M and LSU are out – though Clemson sticks, barely. Stanford, Miami (Fla.) and Auburn are in. Another three teams, Georgia, Washington and Florida, dropped out of the top 25, replaced by UCF, Oregon State and Michigan State.

Call it the re-ranking's seasonal cleansing. Once a year – just around the time it seems as if the FBS has too many undefeated teams – four or five teams fall by the wayside, clearing the waters in the separation of contenders from pretenders. So who's left? According to the re-ranking, six teams stand firmly above the rest: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, Missouri, Ohio State and Baylor.

Then comes the rest, led by four undefeated teams – Miami, Texas Tech, Fresno State and Northern Illinois – and a slew of one-loss teams with borderline BCS hopes. The cream has risen to the top.